The K/S Press/Issues 111-120

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The K/S Press 111 (December 2005)

  • contains 33 pages
  • this issue has an interview with a fan, see A 2005 Interview with Shelley Butler
  • there are some fan memorials for Joyce Bowen
  • this issue has an episode commentary for "The Squire of Gothos"
  • has LoCs for the fiction"Brothers in Time", Good Vibrations, Losing Myself in You, Getting to Know, All This Time, Moonlight Through Your Hair, Revelation, Enemy Mine, The Tribble with Troubles, To Defy the Night, Command Seminar, The Ties that Bind, And We Fall in Love, Pacing the Cage, Call Me Brother, Odyssey, Sweet Talk, see those pages
  • a fan comments on the Trek movies:
    TMP... with the possible exception of The Voyage Home—it's the only one of the movies I can accept. I hated Wrath of Khan with a passion. Not because Spock died (and I'm a Spock fan first and foremost) but because of what I perceived as the character assassination of Kirk. The man who fathered a son and then totally ignored the fact (just because Carol told him hands off) was not the caring, conscientious, accept responsibility for just about everything man we saw in 79 TV episodes. The man who... well, obsessed about being old (at fifty? Pu-leeze!) wasn't the lover of living, the one who never gave up, that we saw in 79 TV episodes. And the plot had so many damned holes it depended on for its development it was like a sieve... I went to see the next ones, but I couldn't warm to Search for Spock, though I'm not totally sure why. Too much Vulcan mysticism, perhaps; the TV Vulcan was tradition-ridden, yes, but it had logic, not mysticism. Mysticism isn't logical. Quite enjoyed Voyage Home, but after that? No. Final Frontier blatantly breached the canon of the TV era, when it was categorically stated by the production team of the time that Spock had no siblings, either full or half (on either side). I'll say no more. That was the last one I saw on the big screen; I watched Generations on a borrowed video, and was glad I hadn't wasted my money. I wanted to like the movies; but I couldn't like 2, 3, 5 or 6. Part of it was that the characters seemed out of character (as I see them) much of the time. I don't like first time stories set in the movie era, either; such a waste of roughly fifteen years, though I admit I find the immediately post-Gol ones fairly acceptable. Hell, I've discovered I don't much care for any stories set in the movie era. I don't, per se, mind stories where the characters are growing older—I don't insist that they're all set inside the 3-year time scale of TOS—but I prefer ones that imply that the events in the movies never happened, even if it's only by ignoring them. And I happen to love AUs—always have. Most of my favourite stories are AUs.

  • a fan comments on A 2005 Interview with Jesmihr:
    Jesmihr, I must admit I’ve read embarrassingly little on the internet and have yet to encounter many of your stories. I’m so intrigued by many of your comments about your own writing that I can hardly wait to catch up. As a person who endures more than her share of boring committee meetings, I’m curious as to how you spice them up with K/S. Do you make notes or just mentally work on story concepts? Whatever it is, I want to try it! Your creativity and spontaneity come through so well in the interview, I want to read more and more. I am a huge fan of the movies and seeing K & S at the later stages of their lives, but I must agree with your sentiments on the katra-astrophe. I know it’s lame, but we had to have Spock back didn’t we? Likely there was a better way. Anyway, you gave me a good laugh.

  • a fan comments on A 2005 Interview with Kathy Resch:
    Kathy Resch – a name I’ve long known in fandom is brought to life! I found your self-examination of your earlier stories so revealing and refreshing. We all grow and change in our views and understanding of the characters. In a way, I’d love to see you make the modifications you mention, but in another way, I would hate to see anything of your stories change. I so empathize with your method of becoming immersed in a story as you write, and it is evident in the finished product. What an amazing journey through K/S your life has been. I hope this is only the beginning! It’s interesting you trace your love of writing to your grandfather’s roots. Thank you so much for the incredible contribution you make to K/S.

  • a fan writes:
    Karen P. had an interesting roundtable last month about the importance of the six TOS movies. She encouraged folks who preferred the series timeline not to dismiss the movies as fertile ground for K/S stories. I think everybody knows that I consider the movies as an alternate universe extension of the series and not necessarily canon. I figure the moviemakers had as much right as we do to answer the question “what comes next,” and while they had multi-million dollar budgets and the benefit of the big screen to make their vision come real, it still is just an opinion.... I don’t dislike the movies; I really enjoy them! Well, the parts that make sense, that is. There is a fair amount there that I think contradicts the universe created by Gene Roddenberry et al in 1966 – 1969, and that’s one of the problems I have with them. Since I’m one of the publishers of the KSP, I have the benefit of seeing what Fiona James says in her roundtable about Kirk’s character assassination in ST II: TWOK, and let me agree with her! That’s not the Kirk that I know and love. And admire. But other elements of the movies are really appealing and interesting, I just don’t buy it all as the inevitable continuation of the lives of Kirk and Spock. It wasn’t until Karen’s roundtable that I thought over the stories I’ve written and realized that I have never written a movie- based story. Not deliberately! It just seems to have worked out that way.... Although Helena pointed out to me that a little vignette I once wrote is sort of post-TMP. I am more interested in writing extensions of their lives that take Kirk and Spock down other roads than that presented by the six films. I’ve got a few stories that I hope to write over the next few years that will explore that landscape. Anyway, I guess my point is that the movies have inspired me to consider the post-five-year-mission lives of our characters even when I don’t write in that universe. Does that work for you, Karen?

The K/S Press 112 (January 2006)

  • contains 27 pages
  • has LoCs for the fiction Addiction, Dare, Destiny, Language Lessons, Watch with Lover, Snowman, A Meal to Remember, I'd Dye for You, Confidential File, Once and For All, The Healing, And On the Sixth Day, How High is the Sky?, All That We Shall Be in the zines T'hy'la #25, Beyond Dreams #2, #8, see those pages
  • a reminder there's some copies of The Celebration Zine left
  • fans mourn the passing of a fan Joyce Bowen
  • some blow-by-blow episode commentaries
  • fans tell of their five favorite and five least favorite episodes, not surprisingly, there is much overlap
  • an announcement for Closet Con #8
  • a fan is compiling an index of gen zines and needs previous databases or the donations of the zines themselves
  • song tapes on DVD for sale
  • the classic zine The Compleat Alternative by Gerry Downes is being reprinted by "her daughter-in-law JJ Downes (known as Jane in many fandoms)"
  • links to the 2005 online slash Advent Calendar
  • a fan writes that she's been extra diligent to send material to the letterzine because there haven't been that many letters lately:
    I have to admit the reason for my consistency in contributing to the KSP for the past two years really doesn't have much to do with the reasons Jenna and Shelley listed. Rather, it is more of a case of "putting my money where my mouth is". At the time, I wrote a Roundtable lamenting the fact that despite the large number of subscribers to the KSP, it seemed that over the past six months or so, only a handful of said subscribers were bothering to contribute to the letterzine.

  • discussion about whether are the movies canon as some fans dislike them, a fan points out that some original episodes on television aren't that great either:
    But bottom line, just as we accept those episodes as canon, then it follows we must do so with the movies as well. Because when Bill put on that Admiral's uniform and Leonard put on the ears and the two of them stood in front of a camera as Kirk and Spock, and spoke the lines from the scripts as Kirk and Spock, then that HAS to be taken as canon. That's what canon means.

The K/S Press 113 (February 2006)

  • contains 34 pages
  • has LoCs for the fiction Common Ground, Language Lessons, Drowning by Design, Rekindling Fire, These Things Take Time, Ritual, Debriefing, Hour of Freedom, To End is to Make a Beginning, Lending a Hand, A Midsummers Night's Dream, Whatever Thou Wouldst Crave, From the Mouth of a Predator in the zines Beyond Dreams #3, #8, 2006 Slash Advent Calendar, Side by Side #17, see those pages
  • it encourages LoCs for fiction both in zines and online ("published" and "posted")
  • an episode commentary for the "Dagger of the Mind," with screen shots
  • a fan tries to get her head around the Movie Question:
    As all the movies had been by the time I discovered TOS, in many cases I saw them before the episodes. I never had the imagination to ask myself whether I accepted them as cannon – they were there I accepted that they had ‘happened’. When something jarred I didn’t decide not to believe it, I made it my JOB to work out how it could be integrated with what I knew. I was constantly editing my view of the characters and their ‘outside film’ lives so that I could explain things which didn’t make sense. The hardest thing for me was actually the discord which exists between Kirk and Spock at the beginning of the undiscovered country – I really could not explain it, I had to do a lot of mental editing to make it work for me! In some ways I actually find that part of the fun of TOS and the Movies – here we have all this information –snap shots of these peoples lives – they don’t seem to quite add up, and I have to work out how it all fits together. Sort of like being a spy or a detective.

  • more on the Movie Question, one fan disagrees with another:
    I'm sorry you and I are on different wave lengths re the ST films. It seems I'm on Fiona's. I hope one day that some writer will come up with a GUT theory which will bind all the films into a logical whole story arc. Like scientists are trying to find a GUT for our universe. A grand unifying theory. It will be heaven.

The K/S Press 114 (March 2006)

  • the editors have some suggestions about how to celebrate K/S Day:
    Read a favorite story! Online or in a zine.... Pull your K/S artwork folder out of your file cabinet or pull up your files from the computer and gaze on your very favorite K/S picture of all time. (Yikes! There are so many! How to choose?) Take those DVDs from off the shelf and watch an episode you haven’t seen in years. Call up a friend (or IM them) and chat about which is the best K/S moment of all time, either on screen or in a story. Or you can close your eyes and imagine Jim and Spock together, sharing a kiss, and make yourself feel the heat of their bodies, the press of their lips, the sounds that they make as they gently part, the sweat-tacky feel of Spock’s hand on Jim’s arm.... What a minute, that goes into the next story! Or you can always indulge in the most time-honored tradition: eat a bowl of strawberry and pistachio ice cream. Flaunt it! Do it in front of somebody who is bound to ask: why are you eating that? Then you get to tell them....

  • a zined is trying to find the owners of some fanworks:
    I have a First Time Story titled "Small Price." Will some one step and identify themselves. HELP! Who wrote this?? And, yet again, I have 1/2 of a very long story titled "Adam" that I've have for several years. Any takers???

The K/S Press 115 (April 2006)

  • a fan is immersed in a great find:
    I can't begin to tell you what fun I've had with a box of older zines I bought from a sale announced on KSC. I sat down in the floor of my "Trek" room with a hot cup of coffee and opened the box. On top was "Contact Christmas", and before I knew it, I was deep into a wonderful Christmas story by [April Valentine]. That was so appropriate, because I felt like a child on Christmas morning! Where have I been to have missed all these wonderful older zines for so long? I guess I thought there wasn't much to be found in the early years. Boy, was I wrong! Just browsing (for 2 hours just opening the box), I could tell they were filled with emotion. So much tender affection. This was when the love and infatuation with Kirk and Spock were new, and people were bursting with enthusiasm. They were trying to find their way, to figure out where this love between K&S was going. Now we all know, but that doesn’t diminish the excitement the early writers felt and conveyed in their stories.

  • a fan writes of her memories about Star Trek: The Motion Picture:
    Possibly one of the reasons it did not and does not have the impact on me that it does for many of you is simply because I was not feeling the loss of Star Trek when it came out. My rediscovery of TOS, shortly followed by my obsession with Kirk and Spock, came in the early 80’s. Even then, I don’t recall my first viewing of TMP. I know for sure it was not on the big screen because I saw it in a theatre for the first time at a movie marathon about 1990. My overall impression of it is still decidedly lukewarm. I love that it brought Kirk and Spock back to us – what a tragedy it would have been had that not occurred. I love the music and the reverent scenes of the Enterprise in drydock. I do not like the cold interior of the ship or the even colder way the characters are portrayed for most of the movie. Kirk is gorgeous – but what happened to the expressions that we describe so frequently as like a sun going nova? Spock is embarrassingly thin and aged far beyond his years. Yes, Gol can account for this, and maybe if they had seen fit to show us more of the devastation wrought by that solitary time, I could accept it better. There just seemed to be no spark in Shatner’s or Nimoy’s portrayal of Kirk and Spock. Imagination is the only thing (except the “simple feeling” scene) that saves this movie for me. When I am able to imagine through all of the exceptional K/S stories that have evolved from it, then I can enjoy it. I can feel the terrible isolation that both men felt during their separation and can appreciate the wary approach they have toward each other. In fact, I am just now reading “Full Circle” by Killashandra, and am on an emotional roller-coaster as I learn from her just what price the years have exacted from them both. With this kind of imaginative insight, and there are many examples, I am able to say that I do like the first Star Trek movie.

The K/S Press 116 (May 2006)

  • a movie comment:
    The movie that sent me into an emotional deep freeze.... I began to hear that the second movie was much better, more faithful to the vision that Gene Roddenberry had of the future...and that Spock was going to die in it. I didn’t believe it for a long time. I fought against the possibility, scoffed that The Powers That Be would kill off the center of their cash cow, didn’t think Leonard Nimoy would be party to it, couldn’t conceive of a world without Spock in it.... But then the movie was released and it was quite clear from the reviews that it really happened.... Right now, I can’t remember what gave me the strength to go see it. I can’t imagine how I did that, I really don’t. But I distinctly recall sitting in the theater during the reactor room scene, living the death, and my heart...shriveling. I recall that I had to catch a few tears, but none actually fell, and by the time I was walking out of the theater, my emotional reaction to what I’d seen was clamped down so tightly that I doubt I was feeling much of anything at all. And that’s how it remained. I wouldn’t let myself think of it, I didn’t see the movie again, and at that time I was out of fandom, so I didn’t even have any fanzines not to read or friends with whom I could not talk to about it. I was fannishly isolated, and I felt so incredibly betrayed.... I think it’s important for newer, younger fans to realize the profound effect that Spock’s death had on a generation of us who grew up with the Star Trek world...and loving him. I believe that my experience is not a unique one, although it was expressed in many different ways by different people. I imagine that Leonard Nimoy does not have a clue of what that death did to us; I wish he did. I know that Bill and Leonard have grappled with trying to understand the hold that Star Trek has on the emotional core of so many people, and that they generally feel they’ve been unsuccessful. Nobody’s been able to ever explain it to my satisfaction, just as nobody’s been able to explain the hold that K/S has on me. But we’ve still got to deal with the reality of the situation even if we don’t understand it.

  • a movie comment:
    At the end of the film, when I saw the torpedo casket on the Genesis planet, I honestly felt hopeful, so I wasn’t devastated. I could never believe Spock was dead especially because my Spock and my Kirk were not dependent on the films, they were in my universe of K/S where they would always live. I know I don’t have to explain that here! It’s almost the same thing like Kirk’s demise in Generations—it meant nothing to me. My K/S universe is separate and apart from most of the films—except for the “good” parts, and mostly dependent on the original series. That being said, I loved a lot of STII—I adored the character of Khan, I loved the Genesis planet and the look of the Enterprise. And like Ivy says, I loved that moment when Kirk steps onto the bridge of the training Enterprise, all backlit and heroic. But the main reason I really love this film is because not too long after its release, in Los Angeles, I attended an entire week’s seminar on the making of STII—this event was one of the highlights of my entire Star Trek life. Many of the actors were there and the film makers themselves including Nicolas Meyer and the art direction staff. What an extraordinary thing this was and very under-attended which to this day I do not know why. And coincidentally, Alayne of Mkashef Press was there too, although we didn’t know each other at the time. She remembers it vividly also. So this film holds a special place in my heart because also it was right around this time that my K/S passion was blossoming. I guess passion can blossom!

The K/S Press 117 (June 2006)

  • a movie comment:
    There are amazingly good moments, moments as dear to me as any in STII. The opening scene is my next to favorite, where Kirk stands at Spock’s empty chair and talks about his loneliness. I might inject here that I drove 50 miles to the nearest theatre showing The Search For Spock and watched it three times in succession. I also smuggled a not-so- small tape recorder into the theater and for days and days afterwards listened to the muffled soundtrack, especially that solitary speech.

  • a movie comment:
    One of my favorite scenes of any of the movies and even of the series is the mind meld with Sarek. So much to love and treasure: how Kirk softly cries “Spock” when Sarek is mind melding with him; Kirk’s eyes filling with tears; Sarek’s expression upon seeing what is truly in Kirk’s heart as well as what he says to him about being so close to his son. It’s just a beautiful, beautiful scene....the end of this film is without compare. After all the horrendous things that Spock has endured, from the very first moment of his new life—he barely glances at the crew—he only has eyes for Kirk. What a beautiful moment when he says “Jim.” And Kirk smiles that utterly gorgeous smile of his.

The K/S Press 118 (July 2006)

  • the K/S Library's librarian thanks a number of fans who have been generous and donated zines to the library
  • a comment about the third Trek movie:
    I was leery of ST:III. I was disgruntled and still felt betrayed. All of us did and were wondering: would Spock be brought back? What condition would he be in? Would he know Kirk? And on and on. We were also angry about the whole story arc, from Spock leaving Kirk at the end of the five year mission to the wife and son being brought into it;and then the final betrayal, Spock's 'death'. Yes, still leery after all that time. It wasn't an optimistic mood we were in that night. The entire theater crowd was subdued, anxious to see what would unfold, what would be thrown at us and our quivering hearts. Then the credits rolled and the thrilling music played, stirring as that glorious music always is. Still, I was not falling for it. I remained sullen--like a truculent small child. I am ashamed to say it. I was somewhat mollified by the opening scenes of Kirk, grieving and saddenned still, touching Spock's empty chair. When he entered the lift and finally let down his guard, showing his agony and loneliness, I commiserated so much with him and I was moved. As the film progressed I found other aspects to be angry about, though, and to laugh bitterly at. For example, the ludicrous costumes Chekov and Sulu had to wear...

  • a movie comment:
    It's incredible to watch Star Trek: The Search for Spock with K/S eyes. I mean, even when you don't have K/S eyes, it's almost the only way to watch it. But while I complain about TPTB, I also have to thank them for handing us a love affair between Kirk and Spock on a silver platter. Even for those who cannot abide to think of captain and first officer as physical lovers, this movie confirms without a shadow of a doubt that they do love each other.

  • a fan remembers:
    ... before VCRs I used to tape the audio of each ST episode and listen to it in the kitchen. Those faint, crackly audios were dear to my heart and I thought I was a big shot to be able to have them with me, even in my car.

The K/S Press 119 (August 2006)

The K/S Press 120 (September 2006)

  • a fan has been worried at the distinct lack of LoCs in recent issues of this letterzine:
    I just wanted to take a moment to thank all of those who took the time to contribute to the last couple of issues of the KSP. For the past few months before that I was really becoming concerned the letterzine might be coming to an end as participation seemed to be at an all-time low.

  • a fan writes:
    For just a moment, let's examine what this remarkable newsletter does. It helps us decide what zines we might like to purchase, and to locate stories we've been looking for for years. it gives us a chance to help each other with our writing, providing the constructive criticism that is the lifeblood of a community of writers. It gives us a chance to praise and support authors, poets, and artists -- the "payment" K/S writers love even more than cash…. well, almost as much as cash. It helps us go to conventions we don't have the time or money to attend. It helps us buy vids that take our breaths away and give us hours of pleasure. It tells us what we can look forward to reading, a chance to sell zines and items that others will enjoy and will help make room in our houses for more K/S, and a way to get zines and tapes from two KSP libraries that is as close to free as we can make it. And oh yes, perhaps its most important function; it provides a forum for K/Sers from all over the world to connect with, share, and learn from each other. Countries have the United Nations, we have the K/S Press.

  • a fan thanks another:
    I want to comment on the thoughtful review that Liz gave for my story, Honeymoon in First Time 60. I know these days feedback on the net is instant and commonplace, but here in the pages of the KSP, reviews are only every month and certainly not commonplace. Beyond that, they are usually quite in-depth and detailed. That that there's anything wrong with "I loved this story!" That's alway appreciated, but when someone takes the time to give a thoughtful critique, that's really, really appreciated

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